Emergency Management in Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada DFAIT

1
Emergency Management in Foreign Affairs and
International Trade Canada (DFAIT)

• Christine Desloges, Chief Strategist,
• Emergency Management

Third Annual International Symposium on
Agroterrorism, April 23, 2008
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Presentation Outline

• Who we are and what we do
• Emergency management coordination within the
  Government of Canada
• Lebanon evacuation
• Responding to natural disasters abroad
• Canadas response to agroterrorism
• Building a new Emergency Management bureau
• Facing the threat of a pandemic
• Conclusions

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Our mandate

• Ensuring that Canada's foreign policy reflects
  true Canadian values and advances Canada's
  national interests
• Strengthening rules-based trading arrangements
  and expanding free and fair market access at
  bilateral, regional and global levels and 
• Working with a range of partners inside and
  outside government to achieve increased economic
  opportunity and enhanced security for Canada and
  for Canadians at home and abroad.

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Our priorities

• Rebuilding Afghanistan
• With the UN, NATO and other international
  partners, Canada is in Afghanistan to help the
  Afghan government build the foundations required
  to bring stability and self-sufficiency to the
  its people.
•  
• Focus on the Americas
• United States, Mexico, Latin America and the
  Caribbean
• Emerging and growing markets, with a focus on
  China, India and Brazil

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Our history

• Britain handled most of our foreign relations
  after Confederation in 1867
• The Department of External Affairs, with five
  people, was established in 1909 above a barber
  shop in Ottawa
• By the 1930s, Canada had its own diplomatic posts
  in London, Paris, Washington, Tokyo and at the
  League of Nations in Geneva, and had begun to
  develop a distinct perspective on and approach to
  international affairs.

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Our current status

• We now have 168 missions abroad in 109
  countries, including almost two dozen posts in
  the US
• Kansas City falls under our Consulate General in
  Chicago
• Washington has the most Canada based staff, (CBS)
  at 122, and is the only embassy on Pennsylvania
  Ave.
• We have 1,200 CBS, 3,760 locally engaged staff,
  and 2,300 employees from 17 other departments at
  our missions, and 3,350 employees at HQ in Ottawa

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Emergency management coordination in Canada

• Public Safety Canada (PSC) has the lead on
  coordination of emergency response in Canada, via
  the Government Operations Centre (GOC)
• It involves all other required departments,
  depending on the nature of the emergency
• In the case of the 2006 Lebanon evacuation, since
  there was no crisis in Canada, DFAIT coordinated
  the events
• In the case of a pandemic, the GOC would provide
  whole of government coordination, with strong
  support from the Public Health Agency of Canada,
  (PHAC) and DFAIT playing its role for Canadian
  interests abroad, and service to individual
  Canadians abroad

8
Dealing with the Lebanon crisis

• We deal effectively with all types of
  international crises, especially when Canadians
  are involved
• The rapid evacuation of some 11,460 Canadians,
  plus 2,600 other nationalities from Lebanon in
  the summer of 2006 was a massive undertaking for
  us the largest evacuation of Canadians ever
• 10 ships, 65 planes, coordination with Cyprus and
  Turkey, 172 DFAIT officers deployed abroad, 215
  people at our HQ Ops Centre in Ottawa
• Many lessons learned in less than a month

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Responding to Natural Disasters Abroad

• Government of Canada Standard Operating
  Procedures in Response to Natural Disasters
  Abroad
• Standing Interdepartmental Task Force
• 24/7 stand-by and response capacity
• International disaster response toolkit
• After Action Reviews

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Government of Canada Response Toolkit

• Cash contributions in response to appeals
• Deployment of Canadian technical experts
• Deployment of relief supplies
• Canadian Forces assets
• Other special measures

11
Peru Earthquake Canadas Response

• An 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck central Peru
  on August 15, 2007 at 1840.
• Interdepartmental Task Force convened (August 16)
• Canadian strategic support team deployed to
  region
• 181 Canadian citizens affected all cases
  resolved.
• Cash contributions 2 million to trusted
  humanitarian partners 8 million in additional
  reconstruction aid.
• Facilitating partnership between the Canadian
  private sector and agencies providing assistance
  to affected communities in Peru.

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Canadian Food Inspection Agency

• The CFIA is mandated to lead responses to
  emergencies involving
• Food Safety (e.g. E. coli contamination of meat)
• Animal/Plant Health (e.g. an outbreak of an
  animal/plant disease)
• CFIA Infrastructure (e.g. laboratories/offices)
• The CFIA supports federal/provincial/local
  responders as requested in other emergency
  situations including
• natural disasters

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In the event of agroterrorism the CFIA

• would provide support and expertise to the RCMPs
  criminal investigation
• would be responsible for consequence management
  (e.g. food recalls, disease eradication etc)
• can mobilise veterinarians and other specialised
  responders to manage consequences of an attack
• is able to mobilise a nationwide network of
  laboratories

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The CFIA is preparing for this threat by

• participating in the development of a
  Consolidated Risk Assessment that considers
  agroterrorism threats
• conducting scientific research to identify
  solutions to agroterrorism challenges
• enhancing its capabilities to respond to
  terrorism by
• enhancing surveillance and early detection
  capabilities of terrorism agents in food
• increasing laboratory capacity
• increasing our capacity to carry out food safety
  inspections and recalls

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Building a new Emergency Management Bureau

• Lessons learned from both the 2004 Asian tsunami
  and the 2006 Lebanon evacuation told us we need a
  more robust emergency management capability
• Recently enacted Emergency Management Act
  strengthens the readiness posture of the
  Government of Canada to prepare for, mitigate the
  impact of, and respond to all hazards in Canada.
• DFAIT appointed an Assistant Deputy Minister to
  create a new EM bureau

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Key elements of the new EM Bureau

• Enhanced Global Watch and Emergency Response
  Centre
• Rapid Deployment Teams
• Creation of a Civilian Roster
• Creation of Regional Centres (hubs)
• Enhanced training
• Developing expertise
• Establish virtual EM Team
• Engaging missions

17
Preparing for a pandemic

• The Government of Canada believes that pandemic
  preparedness is still a high priority
• For a pandemic, DFAIT, in consultation with
  PSC/PHAC, coordinates Canada's international
  response, including efforts to contain or slow
  the spread of a novel strain of human influenza
  internationally
• DFAIT is also responsible for providing consular
  assistance and travel advice to Canadians abroad
  and leading national efforts to coordinate
  assistance to other nations impacted by the
  influenza pandemic

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International Cooperation

• Canada is a member of the US International
  Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza
  (IPAPI) initiative, focused on enhancing
  preparedness, prevention, response and
  containment activities
• Canada supports effective multilateral
  coordination
• WHO, UNSIC, FAO, OIE, World Bank, APEC, G8, GHSI,
  etc.
• Canada has pledged US 105m in assistance
  bilaterally and to multilateral organizations
  (second to US)

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North American Preparedness

• Security and Prosperity Partnership
• In 2006, US, Mexico and Canada agreed to develop
  a science-based North American plan for Avian and
  Pandemic Influenza
• Includes prevention and mitigation, preparedness,
  response and recovery
• Protect animal and human health, based on best
  available science
• Leaders accepted a draft NA plan at their meeting
  in Canada last year and instructed respective
  officials to undertake further work on its
  implementation.
• Implementation tasks are underway border control
  and screening is a priority

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Canadian pandemic preparedness

• Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan
• Recognized by WHO as a model
• Revised plan released December 2006 continual
  enhancement
• Deputy Minister Steering Committee
• Chaired by DMs of Public Safety and Public Health
  Agency of Canada
• Six inter-departmental working groups
• Includes International Issues (DFAIT/Health
  Canada co-chair)

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DFAIT preparedness

• Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Committee
  established at Director General level October
  2005
• Many deliverables
• Internet/intranet pages, mission and HQ BCP
  templates, media lines, FAQs, definition of
  critical services, letters to Canadians abroad,
  full engagement in NAPAPI implementation,
  tabletop exercises (one coming up in July with
  USNORTHCOM), personal protective equipment and
  antivirals, briefing of local diplomatic
  community, evacuation plans for designated
  employees in risk areas, SOPs, etc. etc.

22
Conclusions

• We should be very proud of our contributions and
  accomplishments in Afghanistan, and we are
  demonstrating to our enemies and our allies that
  Canada is a reliable and resolute partner in the
  quest for global security and the fight against
  terrorism.
• Prime Minister Stephen Harper, February 21, 2008
• Canada has the proven expertise of a trusted
  partner and ally -- in Afghanistan, on pandemics
  and agroterrorism, and on natural disasters in or
  out of the country.